“Around Easter we could start to see food riots.”

The world may face social unrest including food riots in April as grain prices increase, said Philippe Chalmin, an economic adviser to the French government.

Crop damage caused by flooding in Australia and drought in Argentina is likely to boost grain prices in coming months, Chalmin, an economics professor at the University of Paris- Dauphine, said in an interview in the French capital today.

“I’m very concerned,” Chalmin said. “Around Easter we could start to see food riots.”

World food prices advanced to a record in December, partly driven by higher sugar prices, the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization reported yesterday. The FAO’s cereal index rose to the highest level since August 2008, remaining about 37 points below the record level in April that year.